Blue Dove
by TeresianLion
Summary: This is my first fan fic, so please be nice! it's about Vamp!Germany (Ludwig) x Sicily (Feliciana). Sicily, by the way, is a girl (for all you derps in case you don't know lol i love you all) rated t for teen, but there is language and maybe sexual refernces
1. Chapter 1

*Prologue*

It was dark, either late at night or early in the morning. Whatever the time was in this thick forest, it was dark either way.

Two bloodhounds had their heads to the ground turning over some leaves and dead branches, taking in each and every whiff around them with their highly trained noses.

A man beside them, who seemed like he was in his late thirties, took out a pack of cigarettes and lit one. He took in a deep breath, then slowly breathed out, releasing a gray puff of smoke. He was wearing a camo sweatshirt, camo jeans and camo hat covering his brown hair. He also had on black boots and black socks. The best hunters took every precaution so to not be seen. He had no gun, but a crossbow with only arrows made with wood and nothing else. The man knelt down next to the dogs.

"Whatcha smell, boys? Got 'em yet?" He asked in a voice that was deep and a little raspy. The dogs gave him no answer, they only continued sniffing. He stood up, holding in one of his hands two leashes, each belonging to a dog.

Suddenly, one of the dogs lifted his head and howled, alerting his master that he found something. The other dog also picked up on the scent and howled with his partner. With the cigarette still in his mouth, the man smiled.

"I've got you now, vampire."

*Chapter 1*

"Excuse me?" A small voice asked. "What are you doing up there?"

Ludwig Beilschmidt, a tall German with slick blonde hair and piercing ice blue eyes, looked down from his perch high up in a tree to see a little girl staring up at him with caramel-colored eyes. She was short, and had long, brown, wavy hair with a large curl that stuck out of her hair.

"Sitting," he said flatly, wishing she would go away. He raised his head so to not look at her and instead look at the sunset, the colors of red and orange were dancing together in perfect harmony.

"Aren't you a little old to be climbing trees?" She asked innocently.

"Of course not. It's an excellent battle tactic and survival skill." He didn't look at her, just adjusted his black cloak he was siting on by accident. The black military-looking outfit went nicely with his hooded cloak. But even if it didn't, he wouldn't care what people thought.

"Oh." She tried to change the subject. "Well, I hear that you're the new kid on the block-"

"I'm twenty, not twelve," he interrupted, still not looking at her. 'Well, technically I'm 141 years old,' Ludwig said to himself.

"And I was wondering if you had a friend," she continued, taking note of his comment.

"I don't need friends."

"Aw, come on!" In one quick and graceful climb she was up in the tree with him, sitting on a branch in front of him. "Everyone needs a friend!"

Ludwig was confused. "H-how did you...? You just..." He used his fingers to point from the ground to where she was now.

The little girl ignored him. "I'm Feliciana Vargas. And don't let my size fool you, I'm eighteen."

"I thought you were younger than that," Ludwig said, brushing off his confusion.

"Yeah, that's what lots of people think." Feliciana looked down. "So...what's your name?"

Ludwig hesitated. He wasn't sure if he should tell this girl his name. He had been on the run for a long time, and when your running from someone it's not wise to go around telling people your name. But, after all this time, he'd never thought of a pseudonym. He doesn't ever talk to people, so he's never really needed one. And with /him/ so close on Ludwig's tail, he didn't think it wise to give away his identity to a girl as...as /pretty/ as this...

"Ludwig Beilschmidt." He immediately regretted it. 'Why the hell did I say that?' Ludwig thought to himself. 'I have to keep my name a secret! And what was with my thoughts on how pretty she was? I mean, she's...well, she is pretty...one could even go so far as to say beautiful. Really beautiful.'

Feliciana giggled, a little curl on her head bouncing. "That's a cool name!"

'Dammit, why the hell am I blushing?' Ludwig thought.

"Let's be friends, Ludwig!" She smiled.

"Okay." He wasn't going to stay in this town for much longer, so he figured, 'What the hell? She'd wake up in a few days and see I was gone, then just forget about me and focus on her own life...as short as it is.'

She looked like she was going to say more, but a third voice cut her off.

"Feliciana? Feliciana!"

She groaned.

'I hope she makes that noise for me...' He slapped himself mentally. 'No! Where the hell did that come from? Why am I sweating? And why am I blushing? No one has ever made my body go haywire like this! Maybe she's after me too...she probably has a bottle of holy water! Or something like that...'

"I gotta go; it's my sister." She hugged him, and Ludwig started blushing more.

'It must be holy water!'

"See ya," she said, then started climbing down. "Over here, Marisol!"

Ludwig suspiciously looked down and saw another girl who looked somewhat like Feliciana, but taller and with darker hair, walk over to her. 'That must be Marisol. Her and Feliciana both have a hair curl.'

"Why were you up in that tree?" Marisol asked.

"My new friend is up there!" Feliciana said cheerfully.

Marisol raised her head to look up.

'Shit!' Ludwig pressed himself up against the trunk of the tree just in time, Marisol didn't see him.

She looked back at her sister. "There's no one up there."

"Yeah there is! See, he-" She looked up only to see an empty tree. "Oh."

"You're weird, sis." Marisol grabbed her hand. "Let's go." Feliciana reluctantly followed, a confused look on her face.

Once they were gone, Ludwig relaxed. 'That was close; I can't let anyone know my location.' He sighed. 'I shouldn't've told her my name, I shouldn't've talked to her.' He looked out through the tree and to the forest, barely visible on the horizon. Ludwig knew he was out there; he knew he was close. He has to move on now...but something was pulling at his heart to stay.

'I keep blushing, but why? I feel...strange. But in a good way. I don't know what this feeling is, but I like it. I want to be around her more. I want to protect her. Is this what love is? No. No, that's impossible! How could /I/ fall in love? The idea makes me laugh.'

Ludwig stared at the setting sun, then jumped down from the tree in one leap, landing on one knee.

"Now then," he said aloud, "I better go find somewhere to hide for the night."

In the end, Ludwig couldn't find that good a hiding spot to sleep, so he instead found a tall tree in a park that had a lot of leaves that he could use for cover. It wasn't perfect for hiding from an enemy, but he could make it work for now. He had climbed up it and curled into a large nook between a branch and the trunk.

Ludwig tried to sleep in his makeshift tree-bed, but he just couldn't fall asleep. He couldn't stop thinking if that little Italian girl.

He turned and laid on his left side, staring into nothing but a thick branch. He sighed. 'This is no good.' He turned again and laid on his right side. He looked through the leaves and once again saw the forest on the horizon, even though it was dark. Ludwig's thoughts strayed from Feliciana to the hunter. 'How close is he?' He thought worriedly. 'I know he's out there, but how close? How far will he go to get me? He can't possibly hurt or interrogate anyone close to me, I don't know anyone else but my older brother. But...but...no, I'm not going to think about that.' Again, Ludwig got uncomfortable and laid down on his back, staring up in the sky. 'The stars are so beautiful. Over one hundred years, and still no change. Heh...just like me. A vampire. Over one hundred years, and still no change. It's good that I don't have any friends. It would be hard seeing them come and go. Plus, they would be confused at my eternal youth. And there's always...of course...my bloodlust. It'd be hard to see a mortal everyday and not get hungry. It's like watching a facet when you have to pee. Okay, maybe that wasn't the best metaphor to use. But still. It's hard to do. After a while...I just get hungry...I imagine slowly sinking my sharp fangs into their neck...drinking all that blood...the warm, red, thick and sticky fluid...the way it slides down my throat...it tastes so sweet yet salty... Damn. Now I am hungry.'

He sat up, then jumped down from the tree in one bound. 'I guess a snack couldn't hurt.' He started walking towards a usually crowded street, hoping someone that was there. 'It's about midnight, so I'm pretty limited on my options. Lets see...small town...large population...new buildings... I'll have to feed from a drunk or a prostitute. Both of their blood is dirty, literally. But hey, I'm hungry!'

Ludwig wandered down the street for another five minuets before seeing someone. He saw a woman whom was probably returning from a late night party, she looked as if she was in her mid-twenties. She was wearing a long and thick overcoat that shone red when she walked under a lamppost; she was probably wearing a nice dress underneath. She had on medium sized hoop earrings which Ludwig saw because her short, blonde hair was tucked behind her ears. 'I wonder what she's doing out here? Oh well, no matter to me. I have a snack!'

He pulled the hood of his long black cloak over his head and crossed the street, confronting the woman. She stopped walking upon seeing him walk directly towards her.

"Can I help you with something, sir?" The woman asked him. Ludwig just kept walking. She took a step back. "Sir?" Upon reaching her, Ludwig stopped moving. The woman hesitated, unsure what to do. Suddenly, Ludwig lunged at the woman. He grabbed her neck in one hand and her arm with another in one powerful and lightning fast move. He sank his fangs into the woman's neck, and she let out a scream that was immediately cut off with gurgling as blood entered her mouth. Ludwig sucked out blood...warm, thick blood...satisfying both his tongue and his stomach, feeling it flow from one being's veins down another's throat and into his stomach. He felt with his tongue how smooth the blood was, and how it tasted. Bittersweet was the term that could be used.

Once Ludwig had finished eating his fill, he removed his fangs from her neck, his lips and her neck both bloody from the experience. He let go of the woman, and she fell to the ground, passing out from the loss of blood, but not dying. Ludwig wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his black military-looking uniform under his cloak, then continued through the night like mist. The only sign that he had been there was the woman lying on the ground. And when she woke up the next morning, she wouldn't remember a thing.

'That really filled me up. Maybe now I can get a good night's-' He stopped mid-thought when he smelt a smell so familiar and comforting...he had to follow it. So he did. He walked down the sidewalk this way and that, but it didn't take long for him to reach the source of the smell: a cute, quiet little house. Ludwig followed the smell more and walked up to a slightly open window, almost hypnotized by this familiar scent. He cupped his hands and looked the glass. He saw a beautiful little girl sleeping peacefully in her bed. 'Wait. That's not a little girl. That Feliciana Vargas! Why the hell did you lead me here, nose? There's no feelings for her. I don't feel anything. I know her name and she knows mine. There's nothing more to it. I don't feel anything for her; I can't! Not in my current situation. Not now. Not ever: I'm a vampire. Humans and vampires don't mix; "Twilight" is proof of that. Let's get three things straight: I don't feel anything for Feliciana, I can't feel anything for her even if I wanted to due to my current on-the-run situation, and even if I wasn't in this position, vampires and humans don't mix. So this is a big no-no. Wait, who the hell am I talking to?'

Ludwig walked away from the house and back to his tree-bed. He turned and tossed this way and that, and in the end, with all his thoughts straightened out, for now, he finally fell into a deep sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

*Chapter 2*

The next morning, Ludwig was woken up by some noisy children. He was annoyed and grabbed a branch from the tree, tore it off, and threw it at the kids with great speed and force. But because he was half asleep, he didn't hit any of them. They just ran away, freaked out by the branch that had flown at them from nowhere. Ludwig felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Mmm..." He said, annoyed and tired. But he turned and opened his eyes anyway. The branch might've scared away the kids, but it attracted an Italian.

"Wha...h-how did you...how did you know where I was?" He asked her, rubbing his tired eyes then yawning.

"Easy!" Feliciana said energetically. "I met you in a tree, so I assumed I would find you in a tree! But I didn't know which one until I-"

"Until you saw me throw the branch," Ludwig finished her.

"Yup!" She squealed. "I'm so happy I get to see you again!"

"And I you," he said unenthusiastically.

"Oh, come on! I know you're glad to see a friend!"

'Oh that's right. The other day I has agreed to be her friend.'

"By the way," Feliciana continued, "I was wondering, that is, if you're not to busy, if you would like to hang out with me and meet family...?"

Ludwig tossed the idea back and forth: hang out with friend, stay safe, hang out with friend, stay safe, hang out with friend, stay safe...

"Sure, I don't mind." 'You dummkopf,' he scolded himself.

"Yay!" She pulled on his sleeve. "Come on! You should meet them!"

Ludwig pulled his arm away. "Woah! Hey, when I said 'sure', I meant that I'd hang out with you, not your family. No one should even know I'm here." He mumbled the last part.

"Oh..."

He looked down. "So where did you want to go?" He asked in a bored tone, like he was saying yes to someone after getting "the puppy-eyes treatment".

"Um...you know, I didn't really think about that...heh..." She smiled nervously.

"Of course you didn't."

She ignored him and started thinking. Ludwig took this time to breathe in her scent. Up close, it was easier to smell her. She smelled so familiar, so...warm and...comforting. 'Almost like a mother.' He smiled. 'She'd make a beautiful and wonderful mother.'

"What is it?" Feliciana looked up at him.

Ludwig blinked, realizing that he had been staring at her. He fumbled for an answer. "U-uh..what do you mean?" Smooth.

"You're smiling."

"...and?"

"Well, you haven't smiled at all since I've met you, and I was just wondering what made you so happy."

'You. The way that you smile, the way you smell, the way you look, the way you laugh, how amazing you are...'

"Nothing, it's just...nothing," Ludwig replied with a sigh.

'Ugh, why the hell was I thinking that?! I entertained that idea! Shit...I gotta get my priorities straight: me and my brother's safety first, others' later.'

"Um...okay. But hey, guess what!"

"What," he said flatly.

"I know where we can go! Out for ice-cream!"

"B-but, I...um..." Ludwig stuttered. He's an immortal vampire, so mortal food doesn't satisfy his hunger.

"What is it? Don't tell me you don't like ice-cream!"

"No, I do," he lied.

"Then come on!" Feliciana said before he could say more. She grabbed his sleeve and jumped down the tree with him. Ludwig clumsily landed on his feet next to her, not expecting the sudden leap.

"It's this way," she said, ignoring his slight clumsiness. She led him down the street, taking a couple turns this way and that. Ludwig got some weird stares at him. It was probably his outfit, but after 141 years, he didn't care.

At the ice cream shop, there wasn't much of a line. And while they were waiting, Feliciana asked, "So what're you gonna get?"

"Um...I don't know, I'm not really that hungry."

She smiled. "Well then you can share mine!"

It was now their turn to order, and the cashier asked her in a sweet voice, "What would you like little girl?"

She frowned and placed her hands on her hips. "Hey! I'm 18! It's not my fault I'm short!" She suddenly snapped.

The cashier blinked, taken aback and slightly flustered by the sudden force in her words. "Oh! ...I'm sorry! I didn't..."

"Never mind. Orange sherbet, please." She grumbled, crossing her arms.

The cashier, still a bit startled, said, "O-okay. It'll be ready in a second." He turned around and grabbed a cone, then grabbed a scooper. He scooped some sherbet into the cone and handed it to Feliciana. She paid him, then walked outside with Ludwig.

"You don't like being called short, do you?" Ludwig asked her.

"Absolutely not!" She angry licked her ice-cream. "It's bad enough that Lovino calls me 'Pica' at home, and I don't need that in public."

"Lovino?"

"He's my older brother." She licked her ice-cream again.

Ludwig felt a pain in his chest as though someone had just kicked him there. "Older b-brother?"

"Yup. He's annoying and kind of a dick, but he's caring and I know he that loves me and the rest of my family."

"No kidding," Ludwig said, trailing off into his thoughts of his own older brother. 'He's annoying and strange, but he's caring and I know that he loves me and would protect me at any cost. Any...cost...' Ludwig blinked a few times to hold back tears.

Feliciana looked at him. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

She didn't believe him, but she didn't press. Instead, she asked, "Do you want some ice-cream?" She held it up to him.

"Whatever." Ludwig, still trying not to cry at the thought of his brother, held onto the cone, his hand covering Feliciana's, and bent down some to take a lick. This was the first taste of human food he's ever had. At town years ago, someone asked him if he wanted a drink and, knowing it wouldn't do him any good, he told the man that he didn't drink. The man looked at him and said, "You must be a saint!" Ludwig just laughed. "You have no idea how wrong you are." Then he walked off, leaving the man confused. Ah...good times...

Ludwig licked the orange sherbet ice-cream. "This is really good!" He said, smiling. "Really good!"

"Wow, you really like ice-cream, don't you?"

"Oh my God, Feliciana, this ice-cream...this ice-cream, oh my God, oh my God, Feliciana. Feliciana, oh my God, this ice-cream."

She laughed. "I'll take that as a yes! And by the way, you can just call me 'Feli'."

"I thought you didn't like nicknames," he said, letting go of the ice-cream.

She took a lick. "I don't like 'Pica'. But 'Feli' is perfectly fine!"

"Okay, Feli." She smiled at the sound of her name coming out of his mouth, thick German accent and all.

After they had finished the ice-cream, they walked back to the park that Ludwig had been staying in.

"I've been meaning to ask you," she started, "how come you were sleeping in a tree? Wouldn't you get cold, especially without a blanket? Don't you have a home? Where do you live?"

Ludwig put his hands up. "Woah! You said question, not /questions/!"

"Will you please answer them?"

He sighed. "I can't."

"What? Why not?"

He looked away. "I just can't tell you."

"Will you at least answer my first question? Please? Pretty please?"

"No."

"You're no fun."

"I'm not exactly the most enthusiastic person either."

"You were when you tasted the ice-cream!"

"That's an exception." It was the first time he'd had human food.

"Why?"

"Because."

She frowned. "Why are you suddenly so secretive?"

"What do you mean?" He asked in the same tone that she had used.

She put her hands on her hips. "You won't tell me anything! Why?"

"Because I can't," he said.

"Why not?" She asked rudely and loudly.

"I can't tell you the details because I want you to stay safe!"

She stared at him. "Stay...safe?" She asked quietly.

He sighed at himself angrily. "I never said that, forget you heard it and stay away from me. Please." He walked away from her, leaving her confused.

'I'm sorry,' Ludwig thought towards Feliciana, 'but the more I talk to you, the deeper you get into danger. My life is in danger, it always has been. You can't get hurt, I won't let you. I won't let someone get hurt because of me...not again...' Ludwig felt tears start to well up behind his eyes. He blinked them away as he reached his tree and in one swift climb he reached his nook between the base of the large branch and the trunk. He laid there for the rest of the day, thinking about how soon he should move on. When night fell, he stopped thinking and fell into a deep sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

*Chapter 3*

"I've got you now," the hunter said in his deep and somewhat raspy voice, "you monster!"

Ludwig was hung on a cross like Jesus Christ, except he was bound with chains. The cross was perched high atop a hill, and there was nothing else in sight except for the hunter. His two bloodhounds were nowhere to be seen. Ludwig pulled and twisted with all his might, but to no avail.

The hunter laughed. "You can pull all you want, Ludwig, but you'll never get free..." He picked up a wooden staff from the ground and started sharpening it with his pocket knife. "You're not human," he said while sharpening the staff, not looking at Ludwig. "You eat human food though it does not satisfy you. You try to learn things, but you have no need for academics. You look for friendship, but you don't know how to love." He laughed. "You will never become human! Unless," he still didn't look at Ludwig, it was like he was on the telephone to someone, "you have a human soul. It's quite easy to catch one actually: you just kill a human, then drag their soul down on into the spirit realm and make a deal." Ludwig tried to zone him out, he was tired of this man's rambling. The man suddenly stopped carving, as if sensing Ludwig's boredom, and held up his knife to look at it, inspect, if you will. "You know what? I have a better use for this." He lifted his arm, and in that same second, jabbed the knife into Ludwig's right arm. Ludwig screamed in sheer and utter pain. "You vampires," he slid the knife out from its bloody sheath, the red, sticky and thick liquid flowing out. He stabbed it into his left arm. Again, Ludwig screamed in pain. "Are filthy beasts," once again the knife was unsheathed from its bloody sheath, and was this time stabbed right into Ludwig's un-beating heart. He screamed a scream so loud that he thought it could be heard from a mile away. "In a human form." The man left the knife in Ludwig's chest, it pierced him all the way through, stabbing the cross that he was chained to.

Ludwig coughed up some blood. "Why, Axel?" He managed to ask. "You know this won't kill me, so why are you doing this?"

"Why?" Axel repeated. "Because, I want to see you suffer...just like your brother."

A fire lit in Ludwig's eyes. "Don't you dare talk about Gilbert!"

"Ah, yes...Gilbert was his name, wasn't it?" he stated like he was recalling an old family memory. "He was fun. I would stab him with that exact knife that's in your chest, you know." He pointed to the bloody knife that was still stuck in Ludwig's chest.

"No..."

"Your older brother would bleed and scream like there was no tomorrow!"

"No!"

"But of course for him, there was no tomorrow-"

"No! Shut up, shut up!"

"Once I stabbed him with this wooden stake!" The hunter Axel grabbed a sharpened stake seemingly out of nowhere and raised his arm, preparing to strike Ludwig.

"Noooo!"

"Morning!"

Ludwig opened his eyes. He didn't see the deranged vampire hunter or a wooden stake. Nor was he chained up to a cross with a hole in each of his arms and the knife that had did it stabbed through his chest. Instead, he saw the warm caramel eyes of Feliciana pouring into his ice blue ones.

Ludwig immediately sat up, sweating from his nightmare.

"Who's Gilbert?" she immediately asked before Ludwig had a chance to ask her why she still came to him even though he said not to.

He looked at her. "What?"

"In your sleep, you were shaking your head and kept saying 'no, no, no' and said 'don't talk about Gilbert'. So who's Gilbert? And what were you dreaming about?" She looked up at him with those big innocent eyes of hers.

"It's not important." Ludwig looked away.

"But...Ludwig..."

He sighed. Why did she have to be so damn cute? "Gilbert...was my brother."

"Was?"

"He...died. A while ago."

"That's so sad...how did he die?"

"What is it with you and all your questions? I don't want to talk about it!" Ludwig laid back down.

"Sorry! I-I didn't mean to upset you! I'm sorry...and I'm sorry about your brother." Feliciana gave him a long hug, even though he was laying down. Her head was on his chest. Partway through her sympathy-hug, she froze. "You..." She sat up and said quietly, "You don't have a heartbeat..."

"Of course not," Ludwig said without thinking, waving his hand at her. "Wait, no, I...uh..." He sat up. "That's not-"

"You don't have a heartbeat," She said, gradually getting louder, "you're dead!"

Ludwig, within the span if of a second, grabbed Feliciana's wrists and held them behind her back with one hand and used his other hand to cover her mouth.

"Shh! Do you want people to know the I'm a vampire? The word will spread and Axel will know where I am! I will not have my location given away by a beautiful girl such as yourself!"

Feliciana licked his hand, and he pulled it away, wiping it on his pants. He was still holding her arms behind her back, though. "You're a vampire?! What's going on? Who's Axel? Is he close by? And, /beautiful/?"

Ludwig blushed at her last question, and how she had emphasized the word "beautiful". "Uh...I-I didn't say that..."

She laughed. "Yes you did!"

"Well I um...uh...y-you see, that...uh..."

Feliciana smiled and wiggled out of his grasp. "Well, to be fair, I think your really handsome!"

Ludwig blushed more and smiled. "You do?"

She nodded, then dropped her smile. "But don't try and change the subject," she said, determined, "I'm still freaked out about the vampire thing. Is that why you wanted me to stay away?"

Ludwig sighed. 'I might as well,' he thought. 'She already knows that I'm a vampire.'

"Yes. There's this hunter, Axel, who has been chasing me and my older brother for our entire lives. Well technically it's been his whole family, because I'm 141 years old, and Axel is only thirty-nine. We've been able to outrun every member of his family, except for him. He's skilled, and he almost caught us, but Gilbert had a plan, and it involved him leading a false trail away from me. It worked for a little bit, but it ended up with him getting captured...and...killed." Ludwig fought as hard as he could but a single tear still rolled down his cheek. "After Gilbert's death, Axel was gaining on me. Each day he got closer as closer, and right now he's so close, I wouldn't be surprised if he was in this town right now. I want you to stay away from me because you'll end up hurt, and I don't ever want someone to get hurt because of me again. Never. Again."

"Wow...so, Axel is here?"

"Probably."

"I'll keep a lookout for him."

Ludwig face-palmed. "That's the exact opposite of what I'm saying! I want you to stay /out/ of danger!"

She put her hands on her hips. "Look, Ludwig, by talking to you I signed up for this. If he's here, and he's as skilled as you say, then he already knows that we're friends. It's too late to turn back."

"But-"

"Let me see your fangs."

"What?" Before he could react, Feliciana cupped his face in her hands and used her thumbs to pry open his mouth. Her face was quite close to Ludwig's. He started blushing like mad. "W-what're you..."

"Shh!" She silenced him. "Woah...that's so cool!" She exclaimed when she saw his fangs. She rubbed along one of them, and Ludwig shivered. "Hm? Are you cold or something?" She asked him, confused. She took her hands away from his mouth.

"No, it's just...well my teeth are sensitive."

"Really?"

"Yeah..."

A ray of sunlight filtered through the leaves as a breeze moved some leaves out of the way. All of Feliciana's thoughts were swept away as she watched the sunlight dance across his face. Ludwig felt the same when he looked at her.

Feliciana and Ludwig both leaned in, their lips just about to touch in a passionate embrace...

"Feliciana! God, where the hell did you go this time?"

Ludwig and Feliciana stopped and pulled away, their lips never touching.

"Um...I gotta go," she said looking down, embarrassed.

"Okay," Ludwig replied, unsure what else to say.

She jumped down and walked away. "I'm coming, Marisol!"

Ludwig sighed. 'What the hell did I just do? Well, /almost/ do. I'm on the run. Axel is closing in on me. I can't fall in love. Not now. I can't let someone get hurt because of me!'

He punched the tree. "Dammit!" 'No matter how many times I deny it, or how many times I say no, my feelings won't go away.'

He sat down and put his head in his hands. "...I love you."


	4. Chapter 4

*Chapter 4*

"Mari, why did you come after me? Can't I have some time to myself?" Feliciana asked once they had arrived home.

"You can, but we worry about you," Lovino answered for her, leaning against a wall, "Especially when you up and leave before anyone's awake."

"What do you mean? I was awake!"

Lovino sighed. "Oh, Pica..."

"Don't call me that!" She snapped.

He looked away. "It's true."

"Hey! I-"

"Feli, we worry about you," Feliciano, her other brother, interrupted before she could say more. "If you leave when we're not awake, then of course we're going to get worried!" She turned to him. "What would you do if you woke up one day and I was missing?"

"I'd be worried!"

"Exactly. And that's how we felt."

"Yeah, but why did you have to get me /then/? Why not later? Why not sooner? I'm always being interrupted by you guys!"

"Interrupted?" Lovino asked, but was ignored.

Feliciana's tone gradually got louder as she exaggerated why she was frustrated. "Don't I get to be alone some times? Don't I get a life?"

"You do," Marisol said calmly to try and calm her down. "Just let us know when you leave."

"You have an excuse for everything!" She walked off. "I'm going to my room!"

"Well that happened," Feliciano said once she was gone.

"I'm still confused," Lovino said.

"Me too. Why the hell did she get so angry?" Marisol asked.

"No that's not what I meant. I meant: what did she mean by 'interrupted'? Do you think...she's seeing someone?"

Feliciano gasped. "That why she was so defensive!"

Lovino gestured to his younger brother. "See? So I suggest that, the next time she goes out, which will probably be tomorrow, we follow her." He made a fist. "I wanna see what this guy is all about, hitting on my Pica..."

"But wait," Marisol said, thinking, "if she'd fallen in love, then wouldn't you think that she'd tell us all about him? Do you think that she doesn't want us to know?"

"Maybe she thinks that we won't approve of him," Feliciano said. "But what could we possibly-"

"Shit! He'd better not be German!" Lovino blurted out, clenching his fist so tightly that his knuckles turned white. "I hate the Germans...those potato-loving bastards..."

Marisol and Feliciano both face-palmed. "What?" Lovino asked them.

"Her boyfriend probably is German," Marisol said with her face still in her palm, "and because of you she won't bring him around!"

"Smart girl," he responded, half to himself. "But wait don't you hate Germans too? I know you do! Just as much as I do!"

She turned to him. "Of course I do! But if they're making Feli happy, then I can bury my hate for a while." Lovino stared at her. "But don't get me wrong, it's still there," she added quickly.

"Honhonhon~"

They all three jumped and turned around. "Francis?!"

"Oui~" The French pervert strolled into the room. "And I have some news about this man."

"What is it?" They all asked in unison.

He pointed to them. "Jinx!"

"Shut up Francis and just tell us," Marisol said.

"Well someone's feisty! And that's just how I like it~"

"Shut up and tell us!" Lovino snapped.

"Honhonhon! A threesome!"

"You better shut your face before I come over there and shut it for you! Now tell us!" They all looked at Feliciano. "Vee~"

"Uh...o-okay..." Francis collected himself, moving a hand through his long blonde hair and blinking his sky blue eyes. "Feliciana is getting up early to meet a man in the park. I believe he's homeless because he sleeps in the trees, but he looks so clean and healthy and...strong and handsome..." He trailed off.

Marisol snapped her fingers in his face. "Come on, don't give in to a gay sexual fantasy now, Francis."

He blinked a couple times. "Right, right. So, anyway, she sees this guy each day and she's really happy when she's near him. I'm serious, I've never seen her so happy before." He smiled, then said suddenly, "But I think they should stop meeting."

"What? Why?" Feliciano asked. "If she's happy, then..."

"I have a bad feeling about that man...he's so shady and is always wearing a black military uniform. Also there's that cloak. So mysterious... I see him prowling around at night like he's hunting something and he doesn't want to be seen, I swear, he's like mist!"

"Wait, how do you know what he does at night?" Lovino asked.

"Honhonhon! Well, if you /must/ know, I was-"

"Never mind!"

"Honhonhon!"

"And will you stop laughing like that? It freaks me out."

"Ah, but I am French, and that is how we laugh! Honhonhon~" Lovino sighed, annoyed. "And by the way, I'll wake you all up tomorrow morning in time to stalk her."

"Don't say it like that!" Marisol snapped.

"It is but true~"

"Bonjour~ Wakey, wakey, mon ami~"

Marisol gently blinked open her eyes to see Francis kneeling next to her bed, his smiling face right next to hers. She gasped, mentally checking that she had on all her clothes.

"Shh..." He placed his finger gently upon Marisol's lips to calm her. She stayed quiet, so he stood up and walked over to Lovino. Feliciano was already awake; he was sitting up in bed and rubbing his eyes. They had all slept in the same room that night so to make sure that each other stayed awake the next morning. It was Feliciano's idea.

Francis whispered something in Lovino's ear, and he threw his pillow angrily at Francis. He snickered. "Come on everybody," he said, "Feli just left."

"Do you know where she is?" Marisol asked tiredly, sitting up in her bed.

"Oui, at the park, of course!"

"Oh right," she said, then yawned. "Sorry, I just...I..." She trailed off, falling onto her back and falling back to sleep.

"Tsk, tsk." Francis crawled on all fours on top of her and lowered his head so his mouth was right next to Marisol's ear. He whispered in his thick French accent, "Honhonhon~ You better stay awake now, beau~"

Her eyes snapped open, and she immediately sat up, shoving Francis off of her, sending him all the way to the wall. "I'm up!"

Francis stood up, rubbing his joints. "I guess you are." He surveyed the room. "Alright everyone, get dressed. It's time we leave. Also, why are you all in the same room? Not that I'm suggesting anything by that...honhonhon~"

"It was Feliciano's idea," Lovino said flatly.

"Ah, say no more," Francis answered. "I understand. Now, get dressed." Marisol stood up and walked out. Feliciano and Lovino did the same. "Hey! Where're you going?" Francis asked.

"We're not going to change in front of you, pervert!" Lovino said.

He sighed, smiling. "Fair enough."

After they had all got changed, they met Francis downstairs.

"Okay, everyone ready? Follow me and stay quiet." They obeyed, following him out the door and to the park without a word. They crouched down in a bush once they had arrived.

"Where is she? I don't see her," Marisol complained.

Francis turned to her. "Shh! She's up there, in that tree." He moved closer to her face and pointed. "See?" She nodded.

"Where?" Lovino asked, frustrated.

Feliciano moved closer to Lovino and pointed to the tree.

"Oh."

"You guys, shut up!" Francis whispered loudly. "Do you want them to hear us?" He turned back to look at the tree, but only saw a tall man standing in front of them. There was rage in his eyes. Francis gasped, but it was cut short as the man grabbed his shirt collar and pulled his face close to his. Marisol, Lovino, and Feliciano crouched down deeper into the bush so to not be seen.

"Who are you working for?" He asked with a German accent. "Did Axel send you here?! You tell him that you saw nothing!"

"I-I don't know what you mean!"

"I don't tolerate spies," the German said through gritted teeth, clenching Francis's shirt tighter.

"Ludwig! Stop! That's my brother!" They all except the German, Ludwig, turned to see Feliciana jump from the tree and run over to them.

He didn't let go of Francis. "Then why was he and this trio following us?" He gestured his head slightly in the direction of Marisol, Lovino, and Feliciano.

"I don't know; why were you guys following us?"

They all stood up. "We...um...well, we wanted to know where you were going every morning and who you were meeting," Marisol said, looking down.

"And it's a damn German!" Lovino snapped.

Ludwig turned his head to Lovino, a temper still in his eyes. "You got something against Germans?" He asked menacingly.

Lovino took a step closer to Ludwig, unshaken by his tone. "Yes I do! They're stupid, potato-loving, bastards!"

Ludwig released Francis and stepped even closer to Lovino. "If you weren't her brother I'd snap your neck in one quick swipe!"

"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you try."

"Don't tempt me."

Feliciana stepped between them, putting one hand on Lovino's chest and one on Ludwig's. "Stop, please! Don't fight!"

"You're lucky she's here," Ludwig said, ending the argument.

Feliciana turned to the others. "I can't believe that you guys would follow me! Don't you trust me?"

Marisol placed her hand on her sister's shoulder. "Feli, we do trust you. We just don't trust other people. You could've been kidnapped or hurt!"

"I'm sorry I made you worry sis. But you don't have to fret anymore," she hugged Ludwig. "Because Luddy won't let anything happen to me." She smiled.

"And who exactly is 'Luddy'?"

"Ludwig! He's my new friend. See? I told you I met my new friend in a tree!"

"Huh. I guess your right." Marisol looked Ludwig up and down, inspecting him. "What's with the get up?" She asked him.

"It's for protection; so I'm not seen," he replied.

"And how come you don't want to be seen? What do you do at night that's so secretive? Why are you prowling around?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said with a straight face.

"Don't play stupid. Francis here saw you." She pointed to him.

Ludwig sent daggers at Francis. "So you are a spy! I swear, if you say anything to anyone, I'll break your damn neck!" He stood in front if Feliciana. 'I won't let you get hurt because of me.'

"No, no! I'm not a spy! Calm down! I'm French, oui? Why wouldn't I be out at night? I just happened to see you, and you were acting strange."

Ludwig didn't let his guard down. 'If Feliciana trusts them, then I won't kill them. But I still don't like them.' He narrowed his eyes. 'They're a strange bunch, that's for sure.'

"By the way, who's Axel?" Feliciano asked.

"A very bad man," Feliciana said before Ludwig could stop her. He face-palmed. She looked at him. "What is it?"

"They're not supposed to know about that!" He loudly whispered to her.

"But they're my family!" She said in a normal volume.

"But nothing," he said with normal volume and in a flat tone. "Your own life comes first. Family will only get in the way. Besides, I don't want to see you hurt like I did when...when..." He trailed off.

"When Gilbert sacrificed himself for you?"

Everyone turned and looked at Marisol.

"Excuse me?" Ludwig was baffled.

"Your brother. Gilbert. I knew there was something familiar about you, but I didn't know what. Once you started talking about family, I remembered immediately. You're Gilbert's brother."

"And how do you know about Gilbert?!"

She looked down. "Well, we, um, we had a thing going before he died." She pulled down her shirt collar and brushed her hair out if the way; and there, forever imprinted into her skin, were two puncture wounds that matched Gilbert's teeth exactly. They were faint marks, but they were there. "He called it a love bite." Ludwig walked over and placed his fingers delicately on her neck, feeling the marks.

"Brüder..." He whispered, feeling tears once again.

Tears were also forming in Marisol's eyes. "We met like how you guys did, and our relationship quickly grew stronger. When I found out he was a vampire, I was only more in love with him. I knew all about Axel, and when Gilbert left to lead a false trail," -she hesitated- "I knew in my heart that he wouldn't come back. Axel knew who I was, and after Gilbert's death, he came and told me what he did. He told me...every gruesome detail... He even brought me his fangs in a box to prove his claims. I asked him why he was telling me all this, and he told me with a smile that will forever be burned into my mind that he wanted me to feel pain so that I could understand that humans and vampires don't mix. He made me swear on my life that I wouldn't tell anyone what I just told you. But after meeting you," -she gestured towards Ludwig- "his brother, and seeing you and Feli in love... I just /have/ to help you and make sure that Feliciana doesn't feel the same pain that I had felt. I'd rather die then have you go through this." She hugged her younger sister as a three tears rolled down her face and onto her sister's shoulder. "I miss him so much," she said, barley audible to Felicana.

Ludwig blushed and smiled nervously. "L-love? Uh...who said anything about love?"

"Honhonhon~ You can tell by the look on his face that it is true~" Francis put his arm around Ludwig's shoulder. "You are in love, mon ami~"

Ludwig pushed Francis off of him, still blushing. "Shut up!"

Francis turned to Feliciana; Marisol had stopped hugging her and was wiping her eyes. "Feli?"

She looked over at Ludwig...his slick blonde hair, ice blue eyes, black outfit, and loving, un-beating heart. "Well...we almost kissed in the tree the other day."

"Honhonhon~ The first kiss is always the best~"

"She said /almost/!" Ludwig said, but he was ignored.

"I could feel the magic floating in the air, being with him gets me that way. I saw the sunlight dance across his face, and I've never been so swept away. All my thoughts just seemed to set along the breeze. I knew he would watch over me, and suddenly I was just melting into him. We were caught up in the touch, it was a slow and steady rush. And isn't that the way love's supposed to be?"

They all stared at Feliciana, not expecting her to say that.

"Feliciana..." Ludwig said slowly and gently, staring at her. "That's /exactly/ how love's supposed to be."

"So what's this /almost/ kiss?" Lovino asked angrily.

Marisol stared at him. "I oughta smack you upside the head; you just ruined the moment!"

Lovino snorted. "What moment?"

Ludwig stared at him. "You dummkopf."

The next day, Feliciana came to meet Ludwig in his tree again. She was alone, everyone else was back home sleeping peacefully, content that they knew where Feliciana was going in the mornings.

"Buono mattina!" She greeted energetically.

"Guten morgen," he replied tiredly, still waking up.

"So, what did you want to do today?" She asked with a smile.

"Let's start with 'wake up'." He sat up. 'Where the hell does she get all this energy?'

"Well what about after that?"

"I don't know." He jumped down from the tree so he could stretch; Feliciana followed him and jumped also, making sure that her small white dress didn't fly upwards. Ludwig put an arm over his head. "Maybe we could go-" he stopped short, putting his arm down.

Her smile faded. "What is it?"

With his heightened hearing, Ludwig heard the smallest rustle in a tree that was just out if range of human hearing, yet still pretty close. He squinted his eyes at the tree. 'The noise was to loud to have been a squirrel or a bird.' His eyes widened in shock. 'I-Is it...?'

Suddenly a small object came flying through the air and landed right between Ludwig and Feliciana. It was small and oval shaped. A second after it had hit the ground, it started emitting smoke.

"Smoke bomb!" Ludwig yelled. "Don't breathe it in!" Thankfully, no one else was nearby, so no one else was affected by the smoke. They both clutched their noses and their mouths for about a minuet before Feliciana let go and started gasping.

"I...couldn't stand it...anymore..." Her eyes rolled to the back of her head; she fainted fell to the ground.

Ludwig let go of his own nose to yell out, "Feli!" But as soon as he started breathing, he too fell to the ground on his side. Blackness started to consume his vision, and he suddenly felt extremely tired.

"Feliciana..." he managed to say weakly.

The last thing he saw before falling completely unconscious was a pair of black, leather boots step right in front of his face.


	5. Chapter 5

*Chapter 5*

Ludwig opened his eyes to find himself lying in a grassy field under a tree next to a small pond which had no fish in it. The field stretched as far as the eye can see, and perhaps even farther, but there was nothing in sight except for Ludwig, the tree, and the pond. He sat up, watching the clear blue sky wondering where exactly he was.

"Ludwig."

Immediately upon hearing his name, he stood up on his feet, looking around for who had called his name in such a familiar voice. But all he saw was a pure white dove standing on the ground in front of him.

"Ludwig," the bird called in a strikingly familiar voice.

'Am I going nuts?' Ludwig thought, confused.

"Brüder," the bird called again. But this time, there was a blinding white light right where the dove was standing. After a few seconds, the white light had disappeared, and standing where the dove once stood was a person Ludwig thought he would never see again. A smile immediately crossed his face and tears starting streaming down.

"Gilbert!"

He ran towards his brother, meeting him in an embrace that Ludwig had been missing for years and years, the way their heads rested on each other's shoulders, how his arms rested on his back. Ludwig was crying and squeezing Gilbert, saying over and over, "I've missed you so much!"

Gilbert was also tightly hugging Ludwig. He, too, missed this embrace. "Ludwig, I've missed you too." He was fighting to hold back the tears, he knew he couldn't stay long, and after the two brothers finished their long hug after such a long wait, Gilbert said, "Ludwig, I'm here to tell you something important."

He wiped his eyes. "What is it?"

"It's about Axel."

Ludwig's attention immediately snapped to Gilbert's words, and not his physical features or the sound of his voice, both of which he missed so much. "What about him?"

"Remember how he told you that vampires, to become human, need a human soul?"

"Yeah, he- wait...how do you know about that?"

Gilbert laughed. "I'm your awesome guardian angel, bro! I've been watching over you since the day I left. I even watch your dreams, although I can't change them."

Ludwig wanted to cry again, but he wasn't sure if it was out of happiness that his brother has been with him this whole time, or if it was out of sadness because Gilbert had mentioned his own death, which was the worst day of Ludwig's life. Instead of crying, though, he hugged his brother. "Thank you, Gilbert."

Gilbert hugged him back. "Hey, it's what big brothers do, isn't it?" Ludwig smiled, fighting more tears. He's missed Gilbert so much!

"Back to what Axel said about the souls," Gilbert continued after they hugged again, "I have bad news."

"Well, tell me."

"Apparently, he, like many other hunters, have this strange device that can send a dead human's soul directly to the spirit realm where a deal can be struck. They use these devices to lure vampires with the promise of mortality, or sometimes they'll make deals or exchanges with it. I haven't quite figured out how they work yet, but I do know that it's dangerous for mortals."

Ludwig looked at him with complete focus and attention. "Do you know if-"

"Yes," Gilbert cut him off, "Axel has already taken a dead one's soul and thrown it into the spirit realm. It was quite recently, actually, a few minuets ago."

There was distress and concern in Ludwig's eyes. "Who's soul did he take? Who did he kill?!"

Gilbert put his head down and his hand on the back of his neck. He sighed. There was a silence between them before he finally looked at his brother's ice blue eyes with his own fire red ones and said, "Feliciana."

"Noooo!" Ludwig yelled, tears starting to fall down his cheeks just like when he saw Gilbert. "That monster! I'm gonna mess him up so badly that he'll have to go to hell for some R&R!"

Gilbert placed his hands on Ludwig's shoulders. "Calm down! You are a German, and Germans never give up easily!"

"What the hell does giving up and persevering have to do with this?!"

"I don't know, it was in the moment!" He sighed and took his hands away. "I know that you're upset, but calm down for a second and listen to me: I know how you can get her back."

Ludwig took a few deep breaths. "I'm not relaxed, just so you know. The woman I love is dead!"

Gilbert ignored him and continued talking. "To get her back, you must take her soul from the spirit realm and bring it back into this world."

"So how do I get to the spirit realm?"

"That might be the hardest part of your quest."

"Why's that?"

Gilbert smiled. "Because I suck at giving directions!"

Ludwig stayed serious. "Well, either way, how do I get there?"

"Follow the path you /feel/. It will guide you to a small, blue, sparking pond that seems to glow. Jump into the pond and swim. Swim deeper and deeper, you'll soon enter into the spirit realm. From there, I cannot give you directions. What you see when you emerge from the pond is not the same thing that everyone else sees. Except there is one thing that everyone has in common: a hut. Go inside it and grab her soul. Take it through the pond and whatever you do, keep swimming until you reach the earthly plane. Never stop. And a word of the wise, there will be several million others souls there, and they all look the same."

Ludwig looked confused. "So how will I know which one is her?"

"You'll know, Ludwig. You'll know." Gilbert looked around. "I've said all I can, I have to go now. Goodbye, brüder." He smiled then turned around, taking a step then jumping in the air just as a bright light suddenly emitted from him.

"No! Gilbert! Don't go! Gil!" Ludwig begged his brother to stay.

Just as quickly as the light appeared it had disappeared, leaving only a white dove flying away in the direction that Gilbert had jumped.

"Gil..." Ludwig trailed off, feeling lonely once again. But as soon as he said that, the dove turned around and flew in a circle around Ludwig's head. It had the same eyes as Gilbert. It was his soul.

"I'll be with you every step if the way, little bro," Gilbert had said while flying around Ludwig's head, then flying off into the horizon.

The scenery around Ludwig started to fade, everything dissolved into blackness. When Ludwig opened his eyes for real, he awoke in a small room on a cold stone floor surrounded by four brick walls. Ludwig stood up immediately; the room was dark and it took a second for him to adjust his vision to the darkness. There was a door on one wall, and Ludwig walked over to it. He pushed on it gently, and was surprised when it was opened. In the next room, Ludwig saw a bloody knife on one side, and on the other he saw the worst sight in his entire life.

Feliciana's dead body.

There was a large gash on her right side, blood was everywhere; on the ground, staining her little white dress, and some coming from mouth. There were tears on her face, her eyes were still open.

"Noooo!" Ludwig ran over to her and started crying immediately. He grasped her small, lifeless body, and cradled her. "Feliciana! Feliciana!" He cried over and over, holding her against his chest, occasionally kissing her forehead.

"Look at what you've done," A menacing voice accused.

Ludwig was too busy too look around. He only clutched Feliciana harder.

Axel walked out from where he was leaning in a dark corner. "Look at this, she's dead. And it's all your fault. It's your fault she's dead, Ludwig!"

He swung his head up, his blue eyes red and puffy. "No, Axel! No! You did this! You!"

He sighed. "When will you ever learn? Humans and vampires don't mix. You know that, yet you fell in love. Before, I killed a vampire, but that had no affect at all. So this time, I killed a human. You see, 'Luddy'? It was you who drove that knife" -he pointed to the bloody knife that lay on the floor- "into her. You fell in love, and it had to be stopped. It's your fault. You fell in love with her. It's your fault she's dead! Someone died because of you!"

"Nooo!" He yelled.

'Brüder! Don't let him corrupt you!'

"Gilbert?!"

Axel scoffed. "Yes, Gilbert too!"

'I'm talking to you through your thoughts! How cool is that?'

'If your not going to be helpful, then just shut up!' Ludwig angrily thought at his brother.

'No, I won't shut up! I have to guide you, I'm your awesome guardian angel! And I'm here to tell you to not let him corrupt you! Vampires and humans do mix! You didn't kill her! It's people like Axel who kill, not you!'

Ludwig sat there crying and cradling Feliciana. 'Well either way, she's dead! There's nothing I can do about it!'

'You dummkopf! I just told you that you can bring her back to life! But to do that, you need to leave her body behind and get moving.'

"Noo!" He yelled aloud.

'Ludwig! It's just a shell! Feliciana isn't here! You have to go get her! Now!'

Ludwig thought about his brother's words, then looked down at Feliciana's dead body. 'In a way...I guess he's right...'

'Hell yeah I'm right!'

Ludwig shook his head. 'Get out of my head!'

'I'm your big brother. I gotta help you. So in other words, no. I'm not leaving. But you have to leave this place, now! Every second is precious time. You have to strike a deal with the soul catchers before it's too late! If you don't go now, then all you'll ever have is her dead body.'

'Oh shit!' Ludwig immediatly stood up, gently placing Feliciana down. 'Okay, I'm leaving!'

'That's a good German.'

Ludwig ignored his brother's comment and started walking towards the door, walking right past Axel, whom walked directly in front of Ludwig.

"And where do you think you're going?"

"Away from here! Now move!" Ludwig shoved Axel away from him and into a wall.

Axel stood back up and brushed himself off, seemingly unharmed. "After this long, I have finally caught you. I can't just let my prey turn loose!"

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his skull and everhything instantly went black. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and Ludwig fell on the ground with a loud thud.

When he awoke a half hour later, Ludwig found himself chained to a brick wall that was, like most everything else, bloodstained. There was a televison in front of him, he was in a completely different room than Feliciana's body.

"Finally, you're awake," Axel said.

"What is it with you and knocking me out? This is the second time in the same day."

Axel chuckled. "How else was I supposed to get you chained to the wall? Besides, I want to show you my new favorite movie."

'I have to get out of here! Feliciana is depending on me!' He started struggling against the chains, trying to get free. "Movie?" Ludwig asked aloud, not really focusing.

"I call it 'Death of a Human'."

Ludwig froze. "No," he said in utter shock. "No, you wouldn't dare!"

"Oh but I must! You need to learn to not play with your food." He smiled. "Food being humans, that is."

"This has nothing to do with the 'humans don't mix with vampires' bull shit! You just like to see me suffer!" Ludwig started struggling again, desperate to get free for the sake of his own sanity and to get to Feliciana's soul ASAP.

"It is true," Axel said with a smile so wicked that it would make any other villan cringe. He pushed play on the television and watched Ludwig's face for a reaction as the movie unfolded.

It looked like it was recored off of a security camera that was on the ceiling in a corner. There, in the center of the screen, was a small Italitan girl wearing a white dress chained to a bloodstained operating table. Her eyes fluttered open, then went wide with shick as she moved her head this way and that, trying to figure out where she was.

"Luddy!" She yelled. "Ludwig!"

"What makes you think he's here?" A voice that Ludwig knew was Axel's said.

"Who are you?" Feliciana asked frantically.

Axel stepped into camera view. "I'm the man Ludwig hired to kill you."

"No! That's a lie! Who are you really?"

"Exactly who I said: I'm the man Ludwig hired to kill you," he said flatly.

"That makes no sense!" There was slight panic and worry starting to invade her voice. "Ludwig loves me!"

"He's a great actor isn't he? He doesn't really love you, you know. It was all a set up. He just wants you for your blood. He made you trust him so that he could get close to you. None of that was real, stupid girl."

Feliciana tried to appear stong and confident, but her eyes betrayed her. "No, that's not true!"

"Remember the smoke bomb? Vampires are immune to that kind of smoke. Isn't it a little wierd that you passed out first? Because Ludwig wasn't really holding his breath, it just appeared that way. You're so stupid, you know that? He never loved you! You're to him like a fly is to you: a meaningless life. He doesn't want you, just your blood." He grabbed a knife. "And your pain."

There was now genuine fear in her eyes. "No! No, it's not true!"

"Oh, but it is. Perhaps this will prove it to you." He pulled out a didgital voice recorder with his free hand and played it.

"I want you to kill her. She's nothing to me. I'm tired of her company and am getting hungry. Kill her now!" It was in Ludwig's voice.

"No! I never said that! Feli, don't beleive it! It's all computers!" The present Ludwig yelled, knowing very well that she couldn't hear him.

"No..." she whispered fear making her voice shake.

"He wants you to die," Axel said, walking over to her with the knife in his hand.

Feliciana started crying. "I can't believe it!"

"Shut your trap." Axel, with amazing speed, shoved the knife into Feliciana's side. She gasped. He started twisting and turning it, drawing more blood and tearing more flesh. "Die, bitch!"

"Noooo!" The present Ludwig yelled, crying. "Turn it off! Turn it off!"

"But this is my favorite part," present Axel said.

On the screen, Axel was jabbing the knife in and out of her wound, twisting it in all directions like he was trying to unlock a stubborn door. Feliciana was crying and screaming as Axel mutulated her side.

"Why do you hate me, Ludwig?!" She screamed out. She started choking, then finally stopped screming and crying. Feliciana lay still, now dead. Axel took the knife from her side and threw it to the wall, it landed right next to the camera and stuck. All Ludwig could see was the knife covered in Feliciana's blood.

He was crying hysterically. "Noooo! How could you?! You damn monster!"

Axel ignored Ludwig's question and walked over to turn off the television. "From here, I unchained her then dragged her dead body by her hair into the room you found her in. I also threw the knife in there for good measure."

"Axel, you bastard! I've suffered enough, can't you see?! Just shut up! Shut up!"

He started to walk out of the room. "I'll leave you here and come back once you've completely lost it." He left and shut the door, leaving Ludwig alone with his thoughts, tears, and fears.

"Ludwig!"

He looked up and saw his brother standing in front of him, as solid as rock. "Gilbert!"

"I'm able to maifest myself with all this negative energy you're giving off towards Axel. I'm going to bust you out, as long as you stay pissed."

"Why couldn't you get me out of here before the video?!"

He walked over to the chains. "Good, good. Get angry. I need this energy." He closed his eyes and placed his hand on the lock keeping Ludwig restrained to the wall. There was a little steam, then a snapping sound. The lock had broken and the restraint had fallen off. He did the same thing for the other lock. Ludwig rubbed his wrists, still incredibly shaken by what he had just witnessed. "H-how do I get out of here? I've gotta get Feliciana!"

"A, don't calm down. B, I don't know...heh." Gilbert smiled nervosly.

"Are you serious right now?! I need to save Feliciana and tell her that I love her!"

"I can get us out an easy way, though," Gilbert said, remaining calm to try and annoy his brother further. Yeah it might be rude, but he needs the energy to stay solid like this. "Grab my hand." Without hesitating, Ludwig grabbed his brother's hand. "Good. Now walk into the wall."

"What?!"

"Trust me."

'I don't have very many choices,' Ludwig thought. He nodded, shut his eyes, and started walking at the wall. He didn't stop walking, he didn't even slow down. He had full trust in his brother.

"Bro, you can open your eyes now."

Ludwig did so and found himself on the other side of the wall in a forest of some kind. He let go of Gilbert's hand. "Wha...?"

He smiled. "With all that rage, I was able to transmit some of my engery to you, and we were able to become transparent enough to walk right through the wall. And were lucky, too: the entrance to the spirit realm isn't far from here." He moved closer to Ludwig, and pointed right between the trees. "See it? Right there through those trees is a path. Follow it, and you'll find the pond."

Ludwig looked at him. "What about what you said before? How I have to 'feel' the path?"

He laughed. "I was just messing with you!" He started to fade away.

"Don't leave me!" Ludwig begged.

Before he dissapeared comepletely, Gilbert said, "I won't, bruder." Then he was gone. Even though he couldn't see him, Ludwig didn't feel lonely.

He started walking through the trees and walking in a straight line, stepping over some stray roots and low hanging branches. He srtoll turned into a fast walk, and from there a jog, then to a run. 'I'm coming, Feliciana!' Within two minuets, Ludwig reached the pond. His brother was right, it was clear yet sparking blue at the same time; it seemed to have no bottom. It gave off a slight glow.

'Jump in and swim,' Gilbert thought to Ludwig, and he obeyed, jumping into the inviting pond without a second thought. He swam deeper and deeper, but didn't feel any pressure increase. Nor did his lungs feel like they were about to burst. This was no ordiniary pond.

'No shit! It's the entrance to the spirit realm, Ludwig!' He rolled his eyes at his brother's comment, and continued swimming. Pretty soon, he saw a sky and a sun shine throug the water. He swam towards it and emerged in the pond that was in his dream, the one where he saw Gilbert for the first time in Lord knows how long. Everything was just like how it was before, except the hut that Gilbert had mentioned was there.

Ludwig stepped onto the shore, suprised he wasn't wet, and ran over to the hut, preparing himself for whatever he might encounter inside. "I'm coming, Feli."


	6. Chapter 6

*Chapter 6*

Ludwig opened the doors to the hut, and instead of seeing small house with a warm feeling too it, he saw a whole new landscape full of doves flying everywhere. Ludwig took a step in, and noticed the snow. There was an inch of it on the ground and covering pine trees, but it wasn't cold. There were doves of the purest white flying around and snow-colored rabbits hoping around on the ground.

'Gilbert? Which one is her soul? You were right, they all look the same!' Ludwig thought towards his brother, remembering what he had said about not talking. He expected an immediate answer, but instead saw a dove with red eyes fly towards him. It was Gilbert.

'Did you know that a soul can turn color?' Gilbert asked Ludwig.

'I don't have time for this! Which one is Feliciana?'

'A soul turns blue when it's in love. And your dove is surely blue, Ludwig. So is Feliciana's.'

'B-but! She hates me! I saw her say so on the security video!'

Gilbert shook his little bird head. 'No, that's what she yelled out before she died, that she thinks you hate her. But that didn't kill her love! And since your souls are blue for each other, once you draw near to her, she'll start to glow blue.'

He looked around. 'Okay...so do you have any idea where I should start walking?'

'Nope.'

'But you...!'

'Hey, I'm not God. But it would be awesome if I was!'

Ludwig sighed and started walking forward, Gilbert followed. 'By the way, isn't pink the color of love?' He asked.

'Those people have no idea what goes on in the spirit realm,' he replied flatly.

'And how come only her soul is different? These ones are all white.' He used his hand to gesture to the snow white doves around him.

Gilbert looked at him. 'Its because these souls have nothing to do with your soul, so they have no reason to show their true colors.' He looked back to the scenery. 'What the...? Why is that one glowing red?'

Ludwig turned to look in the direction his brother was looking. Sure enough, there was a red dove sitting on a tree branch, glaring down at him. Voices started whispering in his head, and he knew they were not Gilbert's. They all sounded like the same voice, but were saying many different things. Then the whispers joined together to make out an echoing male voice saying, 'You killed me! You killed me!'

Ludwig gasped as memory consumed him. It was a dark night, and Ludwig saw /himself/ walks towards him. His eyes were full of rage, his lips were in a snarl, and his fangs were sticking out of his mouth. He put up his hands in fear upon watching himself walk down the sidewalk towards him so angrily. He noticed that the hands weren't his. He was in this soul's memory, a memory of when Ludwig had killed him. He watched, frozen in fear, as his past self got closer.

He slapped present Ludwig with enough force to send him to the ground. "How could you, you bastard!"

"What the hell?!" He rubbed his face, noticing that this voice was not his either. "What did I do?!"

"You know exactly what you did!" Past Ludwig snarled. "You told Axel where we were! And now Gilbert's dead because of you!"

The present Ludwig stood up. "I didn't do anything! Gilbert acted on his own!" These words he recognized, but not as his own; he was saying this involuntarily.

The past Ludwig smacked him again, causing him to fall a second time down onto the grass. "He acted the way he did because of /your/ actions! You told Axel your location!"

Present Ludwig got up on his knees. "He tortured me! I was begging for death but he still wouldn't give it to me! What was I supposed to do?!"

The past Ludwig lifted his knee lightning fast, hitting his present self square in the face. "You were supposed to shut up! I trusted you! /We/ trusted you! And now you're gonna pay, Simon," he snarled before picking himself up with his supernatural strength and throwing him several feet. He landed on the ground with a loud thud. Past Ludwig walked over and lifted his foot, then sent it smashing down on the present Ludwig's face. "You bastard!" He stepped on his face again. "Do you realize what you've done?!" He stepped on his face again. "What you've driven me too?! We were friends!"

Suddenly, the present Ludwig saw memories flash before his eyes: memories of him meeting Simon when he was in high school, him beating up bullies for him, them going to games together, him giving Simon advice on girls, and helping him get into R-rated movies because Ludwig claimed to be his father. He remembered being there for his graduation, and celebrating with him once he got a job and went on to college. Ludwig remembered teaching him about Oktoberfest, and taking him to Germany; they both ended up getting hilariously drunk. He and Simon were the best of friends.

"But then you killed my brother!" Past Ludwig smashed his face again; his nose was bleeding and broken and he had a black eye. He picked him up by his shirt.

"I didn't kill him!"

"You did," he snarled, then punched his stomach. He lifted his knee lightning fast again and got him in the jewels. He then threw him again, walked over to him and picked him up again, but this time by his arm. He twisted it behind his back, popping his shoulder out of his socket and breaking his arm. He did the same this with the other arm. The present Ludwig was beaten. Past Ludwig walked over to a tree, then pinned Simon to the trunk by his neck.

"Please...Ludwig..." He managed to get out while being strangled.

Past Ludwig stared him right in the eye. His eyes were filled with hate, and his lips drawn back to a snarl. His fangs were fully visible.

"No," He said in an absolutely menacing voice that sent chills down his spine. He moved his hand a little, then shot his fangs into his neck, trying to suck out every ounce of blood he had while ripping and tearing at the flesh around his neck.

The present Ludwig tried to scream, but was silenced once his vocal cords were ripped. He still shoved and scratched at the past Ludwig, but to no avail. He struggled for what seemed like forever - even though it was actually about one minute - before finally his movements ceased and his body became limp. He was dead. Ludwig's best friend was dead, and he had killed him. He dropped the dead body and wiping the blood from his mouth, then started walking away as though nothing had happened.

Upon dying, the present Ludwig was jolted out of the memory and back to the spirit plain. He stared at the red dove, whom was still looking down upon him with anger.

'Simon! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!'

'Then why did you kill me?' He asked flatly.

'I didn't know what I was doing! I was an idiot!'

'You still are, thinking I'll forgive you.'

'Please Simon...look into your other memories, look into them and see us! Us, best friends! Everything we did together! The laughs we shared, the tears we cried, the bullies I beat, the jokes we told! Spit and rinse! Remember?' Ludwig saw the dove's eyes soften a little. 'I know you do.'

'Ludwig...I can never forgive you for what you did, but instead, I'll tell you where Feliciana is.'

'How do you know about her?'

'I was listening to your thoughts.'

'Oh. Well, where is she?'

The dove, which had green eyes, flew out of the tree and onto Ludwig's shoulder. He used his beak to point to the right. 'She always hangs over there in a small pine tree.'

'Thank you, Simon.'

'She's a strange soul,' he added. 'She's blue with love, yet at the same time black with sorrow. I've never seen anything like it.'

'I guess that's mostly my fault.' He started walking in the direction that Simon had shown him, not waiting for a response. 'Good bye, my friend.'

'Good bye!' He called. 'And good luck!'

'What were you guys talking about?' Gilbert asked his brother.

'Couldn't you hear us?'

'No, a conversation like what you guys had is strictly private. I couldn't've listened even if I had wanted too. So what were you guys talking about?'

'Well when you put it like that, it's none of your business.'

'Oh come on!' Gilbert rested on his brother's shoulder. 'You can tell me, brüder!'

'He told me where Feli was.'

Gilbert knew his brother wasn't going to say more, do he didn't ask and further. Just nodded his head and said. 'That's good.'

'Ludwig! I finally found you!'

Gilbert and Ludwig both turned around and saw Marisol, of all people, walk towards them.

'How the hell did you...?!'

'Heads up, bro, I'm about to manifest,' Gilbert said. Suddenly Ludwig felt an energy drain that lasted about a second. And within that second, Gilbert had become his solid self.

Marisol stood, frozen, and sage gazed upon her lost lover. 'Gil...?' She managed to whisper out. 'Gilbert!' She suddenly screamed in her head, running towards him and crying.

'Mari!' Gilbert also yelled, meeting her in an embrace that was somewhat like his and Ludwig's. Except they kissed.

'Oh my God! Oh my God!' She kept saying over and over again. 'I've missed you so much!'

'And I've missed you too!' They kissed again, enjoying every second of that long awaited embrace.

'W-why are you here?' She asked once they had finished. Marisol was still wiping her eyes.

'This is where I live now. I'm a dove, a spirit. I guided Ludwig here to fetch Feliciana to rescue her soul.'

'She's dead?!'

'Yes.'

'No!' Her knees gave loose, but Gilbert caught her as she cried on his chest, this time out of sadness.

'Shh...shh...don't worry,' he rubbed her back, 'she won't be dead for much longer. Ludwig knows where she is.'

She looked up at him. 'He does?' She asked like an innocent child. Gilbert nodded. 'Let's find her, and quickly!'

'Already on it,' Ludwig responded. 'This way.' He started walking in the direction that Simon had shown him; Gilbert ad Marisol followed. Marisol was still clutching Gilbert's shirt as they walked, and he had his arm around her.

'So how did you find us?' Gilbert asked while they were walking.

'I arrived at the park during the smoke bomb, but I didn't breathe any in. I saw Axel take Feli and Ludwig away, so I followed him. I didn't dare go inside his house though. I wandered outside, and then I found Ludwig running through the forest. I followed him, but once I got through the pond, I had no clue where I was. I went inside the hut, assuming he might be in there, but I didn't see him. All I could see was a warm winter wonderland full of rabbits and doves that stretched as far as the eye could see. I wandered around, confused, then I saw Ludwig, shouted his name, and now here I am.'

'Wow. You got confused a lot, didn't you?' Gilbert asked Marisol.

She nodded. 'Yeah.'

Gilbert pointed with his free hand. 'Haha, look! It's a tiny tree!' He thought, changing the subject.

Ludwig swung around to where Gilbert was pointing. 'Thats where Feli is!' He, Gilbert, and Marisol rushed over there. There was no dove there except for a tiny white one. It looked sad, an glowed black when Ludwig approached it. But, like Simon had said, there was also some blue.

'Feliciana!' It took Ludwig all his self control to not yell her name aloud. The dove turned and saw Ludwig.

'You...!' Ludwig ran up to her and clutched her small soul. She tried to push him away. 'No! You can't get my blood!'

He only held her tighter, feeling tears behind his eyes upon Feliciana's fear of him. 'I don't want your blood! I want you!'

'No you don't! You hate me!' She started making noises that sounded like she was crying.

Ludwig fell to his knees, still holding her. 'Feliciana! I don't hate you! Axel is a liar! A horrible, murdering liar! He constructed my voice with computer technology! I swear it on my life, that wasn't me!' He kissed her little dove forehead. 'I love you! I love you, Feli, with all my heart!'

'Do...d-do you really mean that?'

A tear rolled down his cheek. 'Yes!'

She turned completely blue, all sadness now gone. 'Oh Ludwig!'

They sat there, both crying, in an embrace that lasted for a couple minutes before Ludwig looked to her and thought, 'I'm going to get you out of here and back to your body!'

Gilbert cleared his throat. 'I think you mean /we/.'

Feliciana gasped. 'Gilbert! Marisol! You guys came too!'

'Of course!' Marisol said. Ludwig released Felicana, and she flew into Marisol's arms.

'I love you so much, sis!'

Tears started to roll down her cheek. 'I love you too, Feli!' She looked down at her sister, whom was a spirit. 'We're getting you out of here, right now.'

'Okay.'

Marisol looked around. 'Uh...does anyone by chance know the way out?'

'I do,' Ludwig said. 'Come on.' He started walking, and everyone followed him.

Soon enough, they reached the door. Marisol and Gilbert walked through, followed by Ludwig holding Feliciana.

"We can talk now," Gilbert said aloud.

"Thank you!" Marisol also said aloud. She looked around. "Hey...this isn't what I saw when I first came in here!"

Ludwig looked around. "It's what I saw..."

They both turned to Gilbert, expecting an explanation. "I have no clue why," he said. "Let's just hurry and get Feliciana in the pond before it's too late."

"Sounds good," Ludwig replied, walking over to it. He clutched Feliciana tight, then jumped. But he didn't reach the pond. He was suspended in mid air. Ludwig felt himself get pulled back to the ground. He landed on his back, letting go of Feliciana. Instinctively, she flew upwards, but only to be captured in a bird cage by a mutant covered in white fur that had the body structure of a human, but it's head and ears were that of a rabbit's. There were three more of them standing behind the one that caught Feliciana.

"Feli!" He and Marisol screamed, not ready to loose her again.

"Oh no!" Gilbert said.

"What is it?" Marisol asked him.

"Those are the guards! Remember those cute rabbits you saw everywhere? Well, this is their true form: they're vicious rabbit guardians!"

"I never thought I'd hear that..." Marisol said.

"What the hell?!" Ludwig yelled. "Give me back Feliciana!"

The guardian looked at him, its red eyes staring /into/ him. "A soul cannot be taken from here!"

"Oh really?" Ludwig turned around and walked away. He grabbed a stone, then walked back over, completely calm. Suddenly, Ludwig chucked the rock at the bird cage, and it hit it before the guardian had time to move it out of the way. The cage bars were bent a little, and Feliciana had enough room to squeeze out. She did so, and flew into the air before landing in the tree nearby.

"No!" All four of the guardians hissed. The one with the cage placed it down, then walked over and hit Ludwig so that he fell on the ground.

"You fool! That is not the balance of nature! The number of souls can never decrease!"

Another guardian and up behind Ludwig and held his arms behind his back. "You cannot take the bird with you," he said.

"But I love her!" He yelled.

"Love or not, it's her destiny to be here."

"No! It was a mistake!"

"Impossible."

Ludwig struggled against the guardian. "Just let me go!" It only gripped him harder.

"You will not take the soul!"

Ludwig groaned out of frustration. "Gilbert! Help me out, here!"

The main guardian, using magic, made the dent in the bars disappear, then opened the door. It motioned for Feliciana to come inside, and it was like she was under some sort of spell: she flew from the tree and into the direction of the cage.

Gilbert, listening to his brother, ran and jumped in front of her. But she only flew around him. Gilbert tried to run again, but was grabbed by one of the guardians like Ludwig. He struggled, but to no avail.

"Noooo!" Ludwig yelled right as Feliciana was about to fly into the cage. He was going to lose her for good!

But at the last moment, Marisol jumped in front of the cage and grabbed it, the open door on her chest. This broke Feliciana from her trance. She flew away and back into the tree, saying, "Oh my God! Thank you, Mari!"

Instead of responding to her sister with a 'your welcome' or 'no problem', Marisol replied with a small groan, falling to her knees.

"Mari, don't!" Gilbert yelled.

"What's she doing?" Ludwig asked.

Gilbert turned to him. "With her clutching to the open cage like that, her soul will be absorbed!"

Ludwig gasped. "Marisol, let go!"

"No!" She yelled back unexpectedly. She looked up at him. "I get it now. To take, one must give. I'm not going to let Feliciana stay like this! It was a mistake! She shouldn't be dead! If she stays like this, then you and I will both be unhappy, Ludwig." She looked down, still holding onto the cage. "But if I were to take Feli's place," she looked at Gilbert, "we would both be with the one we love." She smiled, then cringed as the cage started to glow. Marisol's chest began to glow.

"Marisol!" Gilbert yelled, fighting at the guardian's restraints.

She didn't flinch upon hearing her name. There was a sudden flash of blinding white light, then Marisol was gone, leaving only a dove glowing blue inside of an enchanted cage.


	7. Chapter 7

OMG SOOOO SORRY i haven't posted in so long! I've been writing other hetalia fics (A LOT) and since i have lots of free time I'll try to post them and all their parts today :D love you all~

-disclaimer: don't own hetalia-

*Chapter 7*

"Marisol! You had your whole life ahead of you!" Gilbert still fought at the guardian.

The dove looked at him through the cage bars. "But I don't want to live it without you." She looked at Ludwig. "Besides, if I take Felicina's place, Ludwig can be happy too."

"To take, one must give," the main guardian said, picking up the cage. "You may take the other dove away now." They released Ludwig and Gilbert, and each one ran to a dove.

Gilbert approached Marisol, and not knowing what else to say, said, "I love you." The guardian opened the cage, and with another flash of white light, Gilbert's soul was inside with Marisol's.

"I love you too," she replied.

Ludwig, holding Felicana, ran over to the cage. "Marisol! Why? I mean, you...! Why?"

Feliciana responded for her. "Because of love. For both her sister and her soul mate." Marisol nodded. Feliciana looked at Ludwig. "She wants us to be together."

Ludwig looked at the little dove in his arms, then to Marisol. "Thank you." He stood up and walked over to the pond, casting one final glance at the two soul mates as the guardians took them back inside. Ludwig jumped into the water and kept swimming and swimming, Feliciana still in one of his arms.

"Where's my body?" She asked once they surfaced, completely dry. She perched in a tree.

Ludwig hesitated. He hadn't thought about how to get to her body, bloody and partially mangled, lying inside Axel's lair. "Uh...where you left it?" He said nervously.

She glared at him. "Dude!"

"Well what was I supposed to do?"

"Grab it?"

"I couldn't!" he suddenly snapped. "I was chained to a wall and forced to watch a video of your death! I only got out because Gilbert came and helped me out! I didn't have time to grab your body!"

Feliciana blinked. "I didn't...know..."

He sighed, slumping against the trunk of the tree she was perched on. "I'm sorry I snapped. It's just...well how are we supposed to get your body back now? There's no way we can just waltz in there and get your body without walking right to death!" He rested his head in his hands.

Feliciana flew down and landed on his knee. "How exactly did Gilbert get you out?" She asked, looking up at him.

"Well...he used my anger or something to focus his energy on the chains restraining me."

"Then what?"

"Then he grabbed my hand, and split his energy between the two of us. We were able to walk through a wall then."

She spread her wings. "That's it!"

He looked at her, confused. "What's it?"

She smiled. "Get angry!"

"Excuse me?" Ludwig blinked.

"If you get angry, I can channel that energy and we'll be able to walk through a wall and I could get back into my body! Sound good?"

"But...I..."

"I died! I'm dead, Axel killed me!"

"/What/?!"

Feliciana ignored him, she just continued. "He mangled me, ripping and tearing at the flesh on my side! He made me die hating you! He made you watch my death, every gruesome detail! He killed Gilbert! He made him suffer! Axel could teach Satan a thing or two about being evil!"

Ludwig stood up suddenly, making Feliciana fly upwards, and punched the air with a fist. "Damn right!"

She remained in the air, flying around him. "Yes, good! Get angry! Axel deserves to die! He deserves to suffer!" Feliciana could feel Ludwig's intense energy come off in waves. She concentrated hard. "Okay, I think we're good." She landed on his head. "Now, whatever you do, don't stop walking! And don't calm down!"

Ludwig did as he was told. He shut his eyes, then proceeded to walk forward. He kept thinking of things to get him mad, thing he should've done, things he shouldn't've. What should happen and what shouldn't.

"Ludwig! You can open your eyes."

He opened them. They were on the other side of the wall now, in the room where Ludwig was chained up.

Feliciana looked around the room, saw the chains and the television, then asked, "Is this where...?"

He nodded. "Yeah..." Ludwig saw a steel door on one side. "Come on." He motioned his head in the direction he was walking too. Feliciana perched herself on his head. "Why?" He asked.

She smiled. "Because reasons."

"Uh-huh."

"It's fun."

Ludwig didn't respond to her last comment, just pushed on the steel door. Surprisingly, it was unlocked. He pushed it open ever so slowly, peeling through the crack to see if /he/ was over there. Thankfully, he wasn't. It's was just Feliciana's body. He walked inside, still cautious. Ludwig slowly crept over to her small dead body and kneeled down beside it. Feliciana flew down onto the ground next to it, her eyes wide.

All she could say was, "Oh my God..."

"Do you want to get back inside?"

"I...I don't know now...I mean, I'll be in so much pain when I return, won't I?"

"Probably. But I promise you, it will only last for a few minutes. I'll make /sure/ that you feel better."

She looked at him, staring right into those blue eyes of his. "I trust you, Ludwig." She flew up a foot above her body and gently beat her wings, lowering down onto her chest. She started to glow as her spirit entered her chest. She blinked open her eyes and gasped loudly, holding her side. She cringed, whimpering.

Feliciana sat on his lap and Ludwig cradled her against his chest. He stroked her hair lovingly. "Shh..." He tried to calm her. He put one of his hands on her side, covering her hands. "I'm going to make the pain go away..." Ludwig brushed a little bit of her hair away from her neck. He moved his mouth to her neck and curled his lips, his fangs sticking out. "...okay?"

She nodded, still whimpering. "Yes...I-I'm ready." She moved her hands from her side to his shirt, clutching to it as though it were a life preserver.

Ludwig delicately slid his ice cold fangs into her warm neck so to not hurt her. She gasped at first, but slowly calmed down at the soft, rhythmic strokes of his tongue against the punctures. He tried the best he could, but he couldn't control himself. He sucked out about an ounce of her blood; it was just so good! He stopped drinking before he went to far, then released a toxin from a tiny hole on his fangs, kind of like a snake's. The fluid, not deadly, spread quickly throughout her body through the blood stream. Ludwig slid out his fangs.

Feliciana let out a small moan as her body changed; she clung to his shirt tighter. Her body started shaking as she transformed. Her skin was losing pigment and long, pointed fangs were growing inside her mouth. The huge gash on her side was healing itself incredibly fast, in twenty seconds there was but a scar. And most importantly, her heart was slowly stopping, freezing her body in an eternal and immortal slumber. After the last beat of her heart, the transformation was finally complete: Feliciana was a vampire. There was no going back now.

"Do you feel better?" Ludwig asked her.

"Yes." She looked up at him, smiling, noticing how strong and beautiful and dependable he was. 'If I was in trouble,' she thought to herself, 'he would be there at a moment's notice to help me. If I ever needed a shoulder to cry on, he'd be there for me. If I felt sad, he would try to cheer me up. If I need someone to talk to, someone to laugh with, someone to have fun with, someone to say I love you...I /know/ that he'd /always/ be there for me. For the rest of our immortal lives, he'd be there.' With all these thoughts going on inside of her head, and the way he was holding her, Feliciana couldn't help but close her eyes and start to lean in.

Ludwig did the same, closing his eyes and leaning his head down so that his lips could meet hers in a special and powerful kiss fueled my true love.

"Well, well, well! Look what the cat dragged in!"

Ludwig and Feliciana both jerked their heads away from each other, their lips never touching. They turned and saw Axel walking towards them through an open door. He sighed upon noticing how pale Feliciana was. "Looks like I have another vampire to kill. Kudos on getting her soul back, though."

Ludwig and Feliciana both stood up. "No, Axel! You will not harm Feli!"

From a corner in the room, Axel picked up a long, bloodstained iron rod that had been sharpened to a point on one end. He smiled that wicked smile of his and said, "Ha, we'll see about that." Within the next second, Axel swung the rod at Feliciana, catching her off guard and causing her to fall.

Ludwig turned his head to Axel. "You bastard!" He swung the rod at Ludwig, but he was prepared. He grabbed it right before it had hit him, not even flinching.

Axel's eyes were wide, but only for a second. Ludwig yanked the rod out of his hands and flipped it around with one quick movement. He swung the rod one way, hitting Axel's left side, and he started to tumble. But before he hit the ground, Ludwig hit his right side.

Axel regained his balance, but only had it for a second. Ludwig ran at him, swinging the rod at his chest and pinning him against the brick wall. He held the rod with one hand and with the other he punched Axel in the face several times, breaking his nose and knocking some teeth out.

Axel lifted his knee and hit Ludwig right between his legs. He stumbled backward, dropping the iron rod and holding his crotch. Axel used this opportunity to return the favor and punch Ludwig in the face multiple times. But after the first punch, Ludwig forcefully shoved him away.

Axel stumbled and landed by the rod. He picked it up and pointed the sharp end at Ludwig's neck, backing him up against a wall. Wearing the most evil grin ever known to mankind, he snarled, "It ends now."

"This won't kill me, dummkopf."

"Oh, I am well aware that there shall be suffering before your death, vampire."

Out of the corner of his eye, Ludwig saw Feliciana stand up and start to creep up behind Axel. "My death, huh?" He smirked. "We'll see about that."

Feliciana cupped her hands and hit Axel on either side of his head. He fell, holding his head in agony. "Ah! Damn you, you bitch!"

Ludwig immediately grabbed the sharpened rod and held it to Axel's neck, pinning him on his back against the floor.

Axel looked at the rod, then to Ludwig's face. It held no mercy. His eyes, which were ice blue, were now ablaze with years of hate and anger towards him, and how Ludwig could end it all at any second.

Axel, knowing that he had been beaten, looked into Ludwig's eyes and said plainly, "Well done, vampire."

"Danke, human." Ludwig shoved the iron rod through Axel's neck with enough force to go all the way through and hit the concrete floor. Crimson blood splattered the floor and was flowing down his neck.

Feliciana clung to Ludwig. "He's...?"

"Yes," he said flatly.

Axel Flas, like the rest of his family, was finally.../finally/ dead.

*Chapter 8*

"So...now what?" Feliciana asked once they were outside. "I mean...Axel is dead. What happens from here? Things have changed so much recently: Mari is dead, she chose to stay with Gilbert for eternity, Axel is dead, and now I'm a vampire."

Ludwig gazed out at the sunset, as if watching something that she could not see. "I have my own path to follow, and you have yours."

She watched him. "And...what are they?"

He was still gazing at the sunset on the horizon. "My path is to travel. I don't ever stay in one place for very long. I like to explore, go places, learn new things, see amazing landscapes, and try new survival skills. Your path is to stay. You'll stay with your family and live in this town for all eternity."

"I'd watch my friends and family die," she continued. "There's no other vampire around here; I'd be completely alone."

"Only then would you truly understand the curse I have shamefully damned you too," he added.

"I'm not going to know that feeling."

He turned to her. "Huh?"

"Because I don't want to stay here. I want to travel with you and be with you, for all of eternity."

"Feli-"

"I also want to pick up from where we left off back in Axel's lair."

Before Ludwig could react, Feliciana grabbed his shoulders and placed her lips right on his. After he had processed what was happening, Ludwig melted into the kiss, putting his hands on her waist and feeling her soft lips against his. He had been waiting for this kiss for so long, and it was amazing. It felt so...right. It everything to him, /she/ was everything to him. This was true love, there's no denying it.

Once they had both pulled away, Feliciana said, "I love you. Just three little words. But the moment I saw them, the whole world changes."

Ludwig smiled. "Too true."

*End*


End file.
